DAY 1: Origin Airport – Milan – Bergamo
Meet at the origin airport to catch our flight to Milan. Upon arrival, transfer to Milan. In the afternoon, we will have a guided city tour. At the appointed time, transfer to Bergamo, to our hotel, for dinner and accommodation. Lunch and dinner included. Night in Bergamo.
DAY 2: Bergamo – Consesio – Brescia – Bergamo
After breakfast, depart for Consesio, the birthplace of Blessed Pope Paul VI in 1897. Brief city tour and Eucharist. Continue to Brescia, a city linked to the recently beatified Pope Paul VI, where he entered the seminary in 1916 and was ordained a priest in 1920. Lunch at a restaurant. With the help of a local guide, we will explore this beautiful Lombard city. In Piazza Paolo VI, we can see the city’s two cathedrals, the Old and the New. In the latter, the ark of Santa Apollonia and Filastria stands out, and we can admire its dome, the third largest in Italy after St. Peter’s in Rome and Santa Maria dei Fiori in Florence. At the agreed time, return to Bergamo, just 53 km from Brescia. Full board. Night in Bergamo.
DAY 3: Bergamo – Vicenza – Verona – Bergamo
After breakfast, depart for Vicenza. In the Veneto region, known as the City of Palladio for the numerous works executed by the famous architect Andrea Palladio, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. There are 23 buildings designed by this artist, such as the Rotonda, on the outskirts of Vicenza. We will visit the Palladian Basilica or the Palazzo della Raggione, the Clock Tower or the Chiericati Palace, Piazza della Signoria, and its most important streets and squares. Eucharist. Lunch at a restaurant. In the afternoon, transfer to Verona to visit another of Italy’s beautiful cities. Upon arrival, we will encounter the Arena, a well-preserved Roman amphitheater, the second largest after the Colosseum in Rome. We will stroll through Piazza delle Erbe, where we can admire the Lamberti Tower, an authentic viewpoint to contemplate Verona, and we will reach, of course, Juliet’s house, which along with Romeo forms the couple immortalized by Shakespeare in his work. Next to these civil buildings stands the cathedral. At the appointed time, return to Bergamo for dinner and accommodation. Full board. Night in Bergamo.
DAY 4: Bergamo – Sotto il Monte – Turin
After breakfast, a local guide will accompany us through Bergamo. Bergamo has two well-differentiated parts, the upper and lower city, the lower being more modern and the upper, on the mountain, where we find the historic area, both connected by a funicular. We will visit Piazza Vecchia (old square), a beautiful medieval square. Departure to Sotto il Monte, the birthplace of Saint John XXIII. Lunch at a restaurant. Brief city tour and Mass. At the agreed time, transfer to Turin for dinner and accommodation. Full board. Night in Turin.
DAY 5: Turin
In the morning, after breakfast, guided tour of Turin. Turin is an important economic center in northern Italy, home to examples of Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, and Art Nouveau architecture. We can enjoy the Valentino Park, the Basilica di Superga, the Sanctuary of the Consolata, the Royal Palace, the Mole Antonelliana, Piazza San Carlo, Santa Maria del Monte (Monte dei Capuccini), the Turin Cathedral, and the chapel housing the Holy Shroud. Lunch at a restaurant. Saint John Bosco arrived in Turin shortly after being ordained, and we will have the opportunity to visit the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, which the Turin saint built where the Virgin appeared to him. In its crypt are the mortal remains of Saint John Bosco, Saint Mary Mazzarello, founder of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, and Saint Dominic Savio, a disciple of Saint John Bosco, who died at the age of 15. Visits will take place throughout the day. Dinner. Accommodation at our hotel. Full board. Night in Turin.
DAY 6: Turin – Modena – Bologna
We will have breakfast at the hotel and then depart for Modena, located in the Emilia-Romagna region, where we will visit its artistic treasures such as the Romanesque Cathedral, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, located in Piazza Grande; the Ghirlandina or Great Tower; the Communal Palace and the Civic Tower, and the Ducal Palace, a majestic princely building from the 17th century. Eucharist. Lunch at a restaurant. After finishing the visits, we will continue our journey to Bologna. Dinner and accommodation at a hotel in the city. Full board. Night in Bologna.
DAY 7: Bologna – Ravenna – Bologna
In the morning, after breakfast, we will travel to Ravenna. Ravenna is home to beautiful Byzantine and Paleochristian monuments that were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its historical peak was in the 6th century when the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, in his project to reclaim the lost territories of the Western Roman Empire, occupied Ravenna and made it the Byzantine capital of Italy. We can admire the Church of San Vitale, erected by Justinian, and that of San Apollinare, by Theodoric, originally Arian. We can also see the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia or the Tomb of Dante Alighieri. Other interesting places include the Cathedral, the Neon Baptistry and the Arian Baptistry, Piazza del Popolo, the Church of San Francesco, the Mausoleum of Theodoric, and San Apollinare in Classe nearby. Mass in Ravenna and lunch at a restaurant. After lunch, some of the visits described before can be carried out. Return to Bologna for dinner and accommodation. Full board. Night in Bologna.
DAY 8: Bologna – Origin Airport
Breakfast at the hotel. We will then have a guided tour of the city of Bologna: we will have the opportunity to stroll through Piazza Maggiore and admire the surrounding buildings, among which stands out the Palazzo del Podestà, the current seat of the Town Hall, or the Palazzo de los Bancos, among others. We must not forget that Bologna is home to the oldest university in Europe, founded in 1088, where figures such as Dante, Petrarch, Nicolaus Copernicus, or Erasmus passed through. Bologna has the second largest historic center in Europe, after Venice, and we will be able to admire its most emblematic buildings such as the two towers, the Asinelli and the Garisenda, which are its distinctive symbol, the great church of San Petronio, and the beautiful Gothic temple of San Francesco. Mass. Lunch at a restaurant. At the agreed time, we will transfer to the airport for check-in and boarding for our flight to the origin airport. Arrival.
